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Rich & Poor

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Language Function: discussing issues - reading comprehension

Vocabulary / Topic:rich & poor - collocations with ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ rich & poor synonyms - economic protests

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1Read the quotes below and discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot.Oscar Wilde

A poor man is not the one without a cent. A poor man is the one without a dream.Henry Ford

There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.Unknown

It doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor - as long as you’ve got money.Joe E Lewis

An empty stomach is not a good political advisor.Albert Einstein

Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is.Benjamin Franklin

Youth is the best time to be rich, and the best time to be poor.Euripides

He who curbs his desires will always be rich enough.Unknown

1. Which quote do you like best?

2. Are there any you disagree with? Why?

3. Are there any you don’t understand? Can your partner(s) explain them to you?

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Rich & Poor

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2 Put the words into the right group.

affluent broke comfortable

destitute flush hard up

impecunious impoverished indigent

loaded moneyed necessitous

needy penniless prosperous

penurious pinched skint

wealthy well-fixed well-heeled

well-off well-situated well-to-do

RICH POOR

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Rich & Poor

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3 Read the text to find out whether these statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. Nobody feels sorry for the rich who lost a lot of money in the share price crash.

2. According to the research, rich people are less compassionate than the poor.

3. One of the experiments showed that rich people are more attentive when interacting with others.

Why The Rich Are Such A Selfish Lot

The latest share price crash may have cost some of the super-rich millions – and there’s a few of us who might even have felt a twinge of sympathy for them.

But you can be sure that those wealthy individuals feel very little sympathy at all for those struggling to make ends meet, according to one researcher.

Psychologist Dacher Keltner claims the rich are more self-obsessed than the rest of us.

Professor Keltner said they were ‘less empathetic, less altruistic and generally more selfish’ as a result of their wealth.

‘We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behaviour in every way, and some work on compassion and it’s the same story,’ he said.

‘Lower class people just show more empathy, more pro-social behaviour, more compassion, no matter how you look at it.’

The professor of psychology at the University of California said wealth, education and prestige gave the rich the freedom to only worry about themselves.

In one experiment, he filmed various groups in conversation.

He said rich people appeared more distracted, checking phones, doodling and avoiding eye contact. Those on lower incomes made eye contact and nodded more, signaling they were interested in what was being said.

Another test studied responses to pictures of starving children. Sensors on those taking part recorded the response from the vagus nerve, which helps the brain handle emotional images.

According to the findings published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, those from lower income group showed a more intense response.

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6 Explain the following expressions from the article.

Rich & Poor

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4 Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do your own observations confirm the findings of the research? Do you agree that wealth influences people’s empathy and compassion?

2. Many people believe that the gap between the haves and have-nots is growing bigger and bigger. Organisers of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest say they are defending 99% of US population against the wealthiest 1%. Do you support demonstrations like the OWS and other similar ones organised all over the word?

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5Which of these words collocate with “RICH” and which with “POOR”? Cross the wrong word.

1 abjectly poor / rich

2 desperately poor / rich

3 fabulously poor / rich

4 filthy poor / rich

5 hopelessly poor / rich

6 immensely poor / rich

7 severely poor / rich

8 stinking poor / rich

1to feel a twinge of sympathy for someone ...........................................................................................................

2to struggle to make ends meet

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3 altruistic person ...........................................................................................................

4 self-obsessed person ...........................................................................................................

October 2011